Automobile-lock.



E. V. SLAUSON.

AUTOMOBILE LOCK. .APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16, 1916.

1,235,730. Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

1/ 7 99 l 1 0 EO/I/g h l 8 E. l 2 l2 1 l 1 n I IZ- EDWARD V. SLAUSON, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMOBILE-LOCK.

Specification of Letters 'Iatent.

Patented Aug. '7, 1917.

Application filed October 16, 1916. Serial No. 125,874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a lock adapted to be applied to the gear shift lever of an automobile. The lock is applicable to said lever when it is in its neutral position, that is, with no gears of the transmission in engagement so that transmission of power can not occur between the engine and the driv ing shaft of the automobile. It is the object and purpose of the invention to provide a device of this character of very simple struc ture and economical manufacture which may be quickly and easily applied to the regular H-block associated with gear shift levers and which can be locked to this block being removable therefrom only after the lock has been operated by one having the proper key. Various other objects and purposes together with novel constructions and arrangement of parts for effecting such ends will be apparent on understanding of the invention as embodied in the structure shown by the accompanying drawing, in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of the H-block for a gear lever control with my invention applied thereto, the gear shift lever being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said block with the lock positioned slightly above it in the operation of placing the lock on the block.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the lock, the H- block being shown in section.

Fig. 4c is a plan view, Fig. 5 a viewlooking against the upper edge of Fig. 4t; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 of the metal locking device which is attached to the locking plate.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

In the construction of the lock a plate 1 is provided of elongated form which at its front end is formed into spaced apart arms 2, a )ortion of the plate being cut away to provide a slot 3 as shown. The forward V. SLAUsON,

ends of the arms are narrowed and bent downwardly as indicated at 4 and then curved in a forward direction making the curved ends 5. A pin 6 is secured to the underside of the plate back of the slot 3 projecting downwardly therefrom, and. spaced a short distance therefrom is a movable locking element 7, the end 8 thereof being turned at right angles in a horizontal plane and extending toward the pin 6. The movable element 7 is secured to a tongue 9 which passes through a base 9 of a conventional form of lock, the projecting portion 7 being passed through an opening or slot 10 in plate 1 to permit its back and forth movement. The base; 9 and acent mechanism is covered by a housing 11 which is rigidly secured to the upper side of plate 1 at its rear end.- The lock may be of any conven tional form so far as the base 9, tongue 9 and housing 11 are concerned, the tongue be ing operable by a key 12 which extends intothe barrel 13 of the lock. 'As the structure of this look forms no part of the invention its specific arrangement of parts is not set forth. It may be of any form but in practice it is desirable that it be of the ordinary pin type, each lock having an individual key'so that only a certain key will operate the look.

In practice, when the lock is applied t6 the H-block indicated at 14, the downwardly extending arms 1 are inserted at the forward ends of the parallel slots in the H-block, these slots being separated by a tongue 14B as shown in Fig. 1, at the front end and at the rear end by a similar tongue 148. The plate can be applied only when the gear shift lever 15 is in neutral position between the slots of the H-block and between the tongues 14; and 14. thereof as shown in Fig.

1. The curved ends 5 pass under a transverse bolt 16 and the pin 6 and movable locking elements 7 pass in the spaced apart slots of the H-block adjacent their rear ends and at either side of the tongue 14*. Fig. 2 illustrates the operation of attaching the locking plate to the H-block and when it is in position, by turning the key 12, the mov able locking element 7 may be carried toward the pin 6 so that its horizontal section 8 will pass underneath the tongue 14* of the H-block in this mannerpreventing any removal. The gear shift lever there upon is firmly held in its neutral position and it is impossible to move an automobile by its own power when the gear shift lever is in neutral position. Accordingly, itwill be evident that with this lock applied to an automobile an assurance is obtained against removal of the vehicle under its own power.

Various changes in minor detail may be resorted to without departing from the invention which is defined in the appended claims and I consider myself entitled to all modifications falling within their scope without any limitation being imposed by reason of the exact specific structure disclosed in the application. I

I claim 1. A lock for gear shift levers comprised of a plate having forwardly and downwardly extending spaced apart arms, said plate adapted to be placed above the ti-block of a motor vehicle, a pin extending downwardly from the plate, and. a key operated lock secured above the plate provided with a movable locking element extending through the plate, said element terminating in an angular extension bent toward the pin and movable with the locking element toward or away from the pin.

2. A lock for gear shift levers comprised of a plate having forwardly and downwardly extending spaced apart arms terminating in forwardly curved extremities, a pin projecting downwardly from the plate, a

lock secured above the plate back of the arms, said lock including a movable key is operated element, and a member secured to said element extending downwardly through the plate and having its end turned toward the pin, substantially as described.

3. In combination, an automobile lever shift H-block having spaced apart slots separated by front and rear tongues, a plate positioned above and lying against said block having forwardly extending arms bent downwardly and passing through the slots at either side of the front tongue, a pin projecting downwardly from the plate into one of the slots and alongside the rear tongue, and a lock attached to the upper side of the plate having a movable key operated element extending into the slot at the opposite side of the rear tongue and provided with a part adapted to be moved under said tongue. 4. In combination, an til-block having spaced apart slots separated by front and rear tongues with a connecting slot between the tongues, a plate positioned above and lying against the tongues, forwardly projecting arms on the plate lying above the forward portions of the slots in the H-block and having narrowed and downwardly turned extensions passing through the slots, said arms terminating in forwardly turned extremities, a transverse member under which said extremities pass, a pin extending downwardly from the plate and entering one of the slots of the H-block at one side of the rear tongue, a lock secured on the upper side f the plate and a movable key operated ele ent included in the lock passing through the plate into the other slot on the opposite side of the rear tongue, said element terminating in a horizontal extension adapted to be moved under the rear tongue and toward the pin.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

EDl VARD V. SLAUSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G. 

